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Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected?

economist.com

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Re: Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected?

#41

Post by 6510 »

epicureanideal wrote: post #16
actuator wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not sure how in a totally integrated free market world, a country like UK can compete with US or China. The amount of funding US can put into new areas like green energy and the internal market and capital it offers is something UK can't compete with. This is why UK origin founders are one of the biggest cohort of immigrant unicorn founders in US. Although, I am not sure where a Brit would move to, if they want…

Taiwan, South Korea, and Israel all have much lower populations than the UK and yet remain important global influencers. It isn't all about population. The USA has 1/4 the population of China and yet technologically is a peer competitor. Japan had less than 1/2 the population of the USA in the 1980s and was a technological peer competitor. With wise investment in capital equipment, education, and technology, even sma…

> With wise investment in capital equipment, education, and technology, even small, resource-poor countries can punch far above their weight.

It is much easier to organize for smaller countries.

Re: Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected?

#42

Post by perardi »

NegativeLatency wrote: post #24
krysp wrote: post #9

As a Brit I can't help but notice that on every axis, our country appears to be in decline at the moment. Even before Brexit, things hadn't been going well, as this article shows. It's making me seriously consider moving away. I want to have hope that as a country we can turn around this societal regression, but I fear it's a deeper problem than just the current government. The class system and an unhealthy nostalgia…

FWIW As a US citizen I feel similarly. The switching cost feels too high to move, as I can't really see myself living somewhere other than the West Coast (family, friends etc) It's a shame humans don't have more empathy and sympathy for each other, and that governments have been so obviously co-opted by the wealthy and powerful for their own benefit. One of the things that does make me feel better is being more invol…

I am curious what country you could move to that isn’t co-opted by the wealthy and powerful.

Sure isn’t Canada. Sure isn’t anywhere in the EU. Super-duper-sure it isn’t anywhere in Asia.

Re: Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected?

#43

Post by screye »

epicureanideal wrote: post #16
actuator wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not sure how in a totally integrated free market world, a country like UK can compete with US or China. The amount of funding US can put into new areas like green energy and the internal market and capital it offers is something UK can't compete with. This is why UK origin founders are one of the biggest cohort of immigrant unicorn founders in US. Although, I am not sure where a Brit would move to, if they want…

Taiwan, South Korea, and Israel all have much lower populations than the UK and yet remain important global influencers. It isn't all about population. The USA has 1/4 the population of China and yet technologically is a peer competitor. Japan had less than 1/2 the population of the USA in the 1980s and was a technological peer competitor. With wise investment in capital equipment, education, and technology, even sma…

The problem is labor exploitation & work culture.

SK & Taiwan have working hours that would be considered hellish in West. At the top level & for immigrants, US working hours are similarly hellish. The British may be just as productive per hour, but they could never keep up on time. Personal life in SK/Taiwan is non-existent as demonstrated by the countries having the 2 lowest fertility rates in the world. On the contrary, Israel is another story of fertility rates. At ~3.0, they have so many young people, that there is always ample labor available to support Govt. money-sinks like welfare and healthcare.

All of these nations are a glowing endorsement for conscription. Conscription lifts the entire population to a certain level of mediocrity that helps avoid labor unemployability. It's no surprise that other successful nations include Singapore & Scandinavia.

Re: Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected?

#44

Post by echelon »

perardi wrote: post #42
NegativeLatency wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW As a US citizen I feel similarly. The switching cost feels too high to move, as I can't really see myself living somewhere other than the West Coast (family, friends etc) It's a shame humans don't have more empathy and sympathy for each other, and that governments have been so obviously co-opted by the wealthy and powerful for their own benefit. One of the things that does make me feel better is being more invol…

I am curious what country you could move to that isn’t co-opted by the wealthy and powerful. Sure isn’t Canada. Sure isn’t anywhere in the EU. Super-duper-sure it isn’t anywhere in Asia.

Point to a single time in history this hasn't been the case.

Things are a lot better now than they used to be.

The only thing that has really changed is that the post-war American boom is over. Cheap labor, cheap money, cheap everything has returned to baseline and reached the costs felt elsewhere in the industrialized world.

Re: Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected?

#45

Post by tailspin2019 »

newaccount2023 wrote: post #36
tailspin2019 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As another Brit I totally agree. I don’t quite understand the sequence of events that brought us here, but I am convinced that we need to kick the Conservatives out at the next election at the very least.

[flagged]

I don’t think “many times” is an accurate characterisation.

The Tories have been in power for about 12 years now. And anecdotally I feel we did a lot better during the last Labour government (questionable overseas military action notwithstanding).

Re: Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected?

#46

Post by bartwe »

6510 wrote: post #30
actuator wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not sure how in a totally integrated free market world, a country like UK can compete with US or China. The amount of funding US can put into new areas like green energy and the internal market and capital it offers is something UK can't compete with. This is why UK origin founders are one of the biggest cohort of immigrant unicorn founders in US. Although, I am not sure where a Brit would move to, if they want…

You pick one thing (or a few) and do it well. Agricultural exports (billions): US $134.8, Brazil $87.2, Netherlands $81.3, China $72.7 Population (millions): US 331.9, Brazil 214.3, Netherlands 17.5, China 1412 Size (km²) US 9834000, Brazil 8516000, Netherlands 41850, China 9597000

Nitrogen pollution laws will soon change the numbers for the Netherlands significantly

Re: Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected?

#47

Post by newaccount2023 »

epicureanideal wrote: post #16
actuator wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not sure how in a totally integrated free market world, a country like UK can compete with US or China. The amount of funding US can put into new areas like green energy and the internal market and capital it offers is something UK can't compete with. This is why UK origin founders are one of the biggest cohort of immigrant unicorn founders in US. Although, I am not sure where a Brit would move to, if they want…

Taiwan, South Korea, and Israel all have much lower populations than the UK and yet remain important global influencers. It isn't all about population. The USA has 1/4 the population of China and yet technologically is a peer competitor. Japan had less than 1/2 the population of the USA in the 1980s and was a technological peer competitor. With wise investment in capital equipment, education, and technology, even sma…

[flagged]

Re: Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected?

#48

Post by actuator »

6510 wrote: post #30
actuator wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not sure how in a totally integrated free market world, a country like UK can compete with US or China. The amount of funding US can put into new areas like green energy and the internal market and capital it offers is something UK can't compete with. This is why UK origin founders are one of the biggest cohort of immigrant unicorn founders in US. Although, I am not sure where a Brit would move to, if they want…

You pick one thing (or a few) and do it well. Agricultural exports (billions): US $134.8, Brazil $87.2, Netherlands $81.3, China $72.7 Population (millions): US 331.9, Brazil 214.3, Netherlands 17.5, China 1412 Size (km²) US 9834000, Brazil 8516000, Netherlands 41850, China 9597000

That seems like a good counterpoint. Let me read what gives the Dutch that advantage.

Re: Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected?

#49

Post by barrysteve »

krysp wrote: post #9

As a Brit I can't help but notice that on every axis, our country appears to be in decline at the moment. Even before Brexit, things hadn't been going well, as this article shows. It's making me seriously consider moving away. I want to have hope that as a country we can turn around this societal regression, but I fear it's a deeper problem than just the current government. The class system and an unhealthy nostalgia…

In the long run, the British culture of checking, enduring, regulating and filling in insufficiency will be vital to balancing the world against a centralizing Asian power.

There's a growing longing in people's hearts - a pull - toward authoritarian and religious control. People are chasing Moby Dick's white whale and are filling their hearts with that craving and emotional desire to follow a goal.

It can be really disruptive to a culture that depends on satisfying wants, giving results to clear needs and obtaining what's lacking.

Britian needs a clearer, beautiful relationship to it's future and maybe we can move past nostalgia for the 1800s.

Re: Why did 250k Britons die sooner than expected?

#50

Post by cassianoleal »

newaccount2023 wrote: post #36
tailspin2019 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As another Brit I totally agree. I don’t quite understand the sequence of events that brought us here, but I am convinced that we need to kick the Conservatives out at the next election at the very least.

[flagged]

> what really changed?

The end of said switcheroo. The decline more or less coincides with the current Tory run.

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